Some aggrieved passengers of Arik Air on Wednesday afternoon shut the airline’s corporate headquarters within the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos over non-refund of their ticket fares.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the no fewer than 20 passengers besieged the office for over three hours demanding for a refund of their fares following the cancellation of their flights.
They were prevented from gaining access into the airline premises as the main gate was barricaded by security operatives with a Toyota Hiace bus marked Abuja: BWR 641 GA.
One of the passengers, Mr Emma Okeniyi, told NAN that he purchased a one-way ticket from Lagos to Abuja in December 2016 for N23, 000 but the flight was later cancelled.
“They told me that the airline used to pay refunds on Wednesday and Friday, but today I came and we were not allowed entrance into the premises,” Okeniyi said.
Another passenger, who simply gave her name as Bamidele, said that she bought tickets to Johannesburg, South Africa in December 2016 for N800,000 and Arik Air cancelled the flight.
She accused the airline of being insensitive to her plights, saying that no effort was being made to refund her money.
Another passenger who declined to give her name said the airline owed her N70, 000 since July 2016 after her flight to Abuja was cancelled.
“I have been coming here since then, but they keep giving me excuses.
“Today, they said there was nobody to attend to us and they kept us outside,” she said.
When contacted, Mr Ola Adebanji, the Arik Air Communication Manager, told NAN that ticket refund was normal practice in the airline business.
Adebanji said that the airline was working toward resolving the issue. (NAN)